You have gotten lots of good advice. I will add a couple more
comments.
Anything will help for lubricant. One of the things a lubricant does
is keep things cool and obviously anything will help there. Oils also
lower the friction, but require cleaning before painting.

Using a pilot hole will help a lot. The general rule is to use a
drill that is the same diameter as the web of the next drill. And the
next drill should be the size of the hole you want ( unless the drill
motor you are using does not have enough power ). Sometimes I drill
the pilot hole almost all the way thru and then fill that hole with
oil before drilling the full sized hole if I am drilling thick
material.

You may want to put a piece of scrap wood behind the metal so that the
drill does not grab as much as it goes thru the far side.

I would also recommend you let people know where you are located.
Someone here might be willing to let you use their drill press, have a
drill press to sell, or recommend a good place to buy drills. Here in
the Seattle area Boeing Surplus sells good drill bits at good prices.

Dan



Jamie Jackson wrote:
I've got a lot of drilling to do in iron (?). This is the kind of
metal sold in the hardware store along with angle iron, etc. It rusts
fairly easily, is magnetic, etc. It's 1/2" wide and 1/8" thick or so.
I'm describing it because I don't know exactly what it is (iron or
steel).

Anyway, I've got to drill lots of ~3/16" holes through the stuff, as
well as countersinks for wood screws. Last time, this was really
slow-going and hard on the wrist (I've only got a power hand drill),
especially the countersinking (boring bit is Titanium Nitride,
countersink bit is high speed steel), and the countersink bit dulled
quickly. Should I be using a lubricant, and how do I approximate the
right speed with a hand drill?

My book here says to use lard oil for mild steel (though I don't know
if this is steel or iron), and to use a "medium" speed, whatever that
is. If I've got to use lard oil, where do I find it (will shortening
work)? Hopefully, there's an alternative, considering this is a pretty
low-fat house.

Tips on lubricating while drilling would also be appreciated.

Thanks,
Jamie



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